1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains in general to computer systems and in particular to efficiently using the resources of a computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically when a user installs an application on a computer, the application installs accompanying components (e.g., drivers and services) that are needed to run the application. These components are often configured to be loaded whenever the computer is running, even if the accompany applications are not being used by the user. The components are configured in this way in order to provide the user with the flexibility to run the accompanying applications at any time.
Over time, many applications and associated components are installed on the typical computer. Each installed component consumes the computer's resources (e.g., memory, central processing unit). While an individual component may consume only minimal resources when its accompanying application is not executing, the cumulative effect of many such components can have a significant impact on the responsiveness and performance of the computer. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a way to execute multiple applications on a computer without suffering the performance degradation described above.